Gimme Shelter, Part 2 of 3

Consider the location, construction, and convenience of your horse shelter 

by Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water 

Last month we talked about what your horse needs for his shelter, as well as some thoughts on design and siting. This month we will cover potential regulations and structural considerations. 

Research county, city or local regulations before you start on your project, and be sure to check with zoning and building codes. Community considerations are important as well. Odors, dust, flies and noise can bother neighbors, and in the long run it's easier to avoid complaints. Consider management practices that make your place an asset to your neighborhood, such as adding native nest boxes for birds (and for insect control!), preserving trees and good pasture and manure management.

Building Considerations

The flooring in your stall or shelter should be dry and level. Rubber mats on top of 6 inches of gravel provide an excellent surface -- they keep an even surface for the horse to stand on with an amount of cushioning. They also reduce the amount of bedding needed and are very easy to clean. Packed clay is a traditional flooring but erodes over time, creating potholes in the stall. Concrete and wood are slick and hard and should not be used in horse stalls or shelters. 

Walls should be strong, smooth, free of projections, and at least eight feet high. Barn stalls should have a foot of space between the top of the wall and the ceiling to allow air movement and good ventilation. Walls should extend to the ground so horses cannot get its legs caught under them when lying down. Avoid sharp edges or corners, as well as square posts that can scrape. Beware of metal siding used for horse buildings. Metal edges and corners are very dangerous and can easily cause serious injury. Also, horses can easily kick through metal siding.

Minimum stall size is 12'x12', or 10'x10' for a small horse or pony. A one horse run-in shed should be at least 10’ x 12’. For two horses, depending on their temperaments and compatibility, 12’ x 16’ might work. When housing more than one horse in the same shelter, provide enough space to minimize the chance of injury. Timid or less aggressive horses can easily become trapped by a more dominant horse in small, enclosed areas or corners.

Power and Utilities

Are you planning on power, water, sewer or phone in your shelter or barn? If so, you need to investigate the feasibility of each. Unless you plan to haul water, you probably will at least need water lines. Shelters, barns and areas such as manure storage should be located at least 100’ away from well heads. If you are on a septic system, know where your drain field is located and don’t place structures or paddocks over it. Contact your county health department for help with well and septic questions. 

Storage

For feed storage, you can get by with a larger attached closet-sized area or a small shed located near your shelter. If you have a barn, then you will probably have hay storage in a loft area or extra stall. Consider how much hay you will be storing: one horse eats approximately 600 lbs of hay per month, and a ton of hay requires 200 cu. ft. of storage. Hay needs to be kept dry, out of the sun and weather. Store it off the ground on pallets with 4"-6" space between stacks for ventilation and rodent habitat reduction. Grain should be stored in rodent-proof containers and kept well away from any location where your horse could possibly get into it. If you are short on space, a simple alternative is to store the grain in your home or garage.

Tack and equipment should be kept where it is dry and convenient. This may be any place from a heated tack room in a barn to a closet in your horse’s shelter to your home. 

Shavings or bedding also need to be stored where they are dry and convenient. Large amounts are best stored away from horses because of dust, mold and fire danger. If you are tight on storage space, consider an alternative such as pelleted bedding. Wood pellets are made of kiln dried wood (usually fir, alder or pine and very little cedar) and sawdust. The fine material is compressed into a small, hard pellet that expands back to the sawdust stage once exposed to moisture. Pellets are usually sold by the bag, making transportation and storage easy. With the addition of a cover, you may even be able to store them outside, making them especially convenient. An added bonus is that since it is more absorbent you can use less bedding, saving on money while reducing stall waste!

Feeding Areas

It is most natural for horses to eat with their heads lowered; this aids in clearing their respiratory systems. You can feed in a manger or on the stall floor. Rubber floor mats work especially well for this purpose. Avoid feeding on sand or muddy ground, as this leads to ingestion of dirt, causing serious digestion problems. Grain can be fed in a flat, open pan or grain box. Avoid competition when you feed--it is best if horses can be fed separately. 

We finish this series next month with more details and resources for designing your at-home horse shelter. 

Until then, good horsekeeping to you!

~Alayne